#ELLEloves: Classic Halloween Movies

The Halloweens of our childhood weren't just about stuffing pillowcases full of candy while silently cursing our parents for forcing us to wear coats over our costumes (the WORST). They were also a time to watch those creep-tastic movies that managed to simultaneously entertain us and scare us sh*tless. (Why is it that scary kids' movies tend to be more terrifying and traumatic than, say, The Grudge?) Here, we look back fondly on those Halloween flicks that still haunt our memories in the best way:

Everett

Hocus Pocus

"I was a complete and utter scaredy-cat of a child. My most ignominious moment: having to be carried out of a Blockbuster after seeing the monster on the VHS cover of Hellraiser and collapsing in horror (not seeing the movie, just the BOX for the movie, mind you.) So Hocus Pocus has my heart as the only Halloween movie I could watch at all, for years. Thora Birch was already basically my favorite after a steady diet of Now and Then throughout the early '90s, and the drrrrrama Bette Midler, SJP, and Kathy Najimy brought to the Sanderson sisters was extremely appealing."

"Anjelica Huston is the ultimate witch; she was perfectly frightening in The Witches and a little sweeter (and sexier), but just ghoulish, as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family movie a year later. I loved both films and thought Wednesday Addams was the coolest kid ever. I possibly got a little too carried away after I saw The Witches though. I convinced myself a woman who lived down the street from me was a witch. I would peer into her house just to scare myself, then run home in a fright thinking about her square toes and if she'd take off her long hair wig and banish me to live in a painting where my parents could never find me."

"When it comes to Halloween movies, as cliché as it is, I'm a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas—I watch it before Halloween and Christmas. The music's a blast, the visuals are great, the story is sweet, and the memories I have of watching it with my sister give it extra meaning. Watching it now as an adult and fully getting the references, I understand and completely agree with its ubiquitousness with the holiday. It was well done then, which is what makes it lasting now."

—Alyssa Bailey, editorial assistant

"There's a reason why I woke up this morning and my brain immediately started chanting 'This is Halloween! This is Halloween!' I can't count how many times my sister forced me to watch this movie growing up. I kind of hated her for it, because this movie is a lot for a three-year-old to take in. (I also remember being distinctly horrified that someone would want to creepify a perfectly nice holiday like Christmas.) Now, I look back fondly to the days when this was the scariest thing I had ever seen—until I first saw the music video for 'Thriller,' and had to sleep with the light on for two years."

"There's nothing scarier than Rhoda Penmark, as played by Patty McCormack, in the 1956 classic The Bad Seed. The dress and the pigtails say innocent 8-year-old girl, but the eyes say cold, heartless, sociopathic killer."

"My best friend, Jessica, and I must have watched Beetlejuice 975 times when we were kids. Not only was it the first time I fell in love with a film but also my first time experiencing a 'girl crush.' At age 7, I knew there was something otherworldly about Winona Ryder. I guess you could also say that I got in touch with my fascination with the dark side early on. The opening scenes of that movie, if you really think about what's happened, are about as chilling as any I've seen since. And I've seen The Conjuring."

"I'm not sure if this qualifies as a Halloween movie, but man, I was obsessed with Casper. I would've given up all my pogs and Beanie Babies just to slow dance for five minutes with the Devon Sawa version of that ghost. I can't even tell you how many J-14 and Tiger Beat head shots of him I Scotch-taped to my walls after that movie came out, and it's not because I don't remember, it's because I'm too embarrassed."

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
ELLE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.